tarrant



R. W. TARRANT.

RAILWAY SIGNALING. APPLICATION FILED sEPT.2I, I9Is.

l ,32, 65 1 l Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

.mwv I; Jh, Arrows/ys II. w. IAIIIIANI.

RAILWAY SIGNALING.

APPLICATION FILED sEPT.2I, I9I6.

1,322,651 I Patented-Nov. 25, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WIFI

R. w. TARRANT. RAILWAY SIGNALING. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 2l. l9l6.

1,322,651., Patented N0v.25,1919.

4 SHEETS-'SHEET 3.

R. W. TARRANT.

RAILWAY SIGNALING. APPLICATION FILED sEPI.2I, I9Ie.

l ,322,65 l Patented Nov. 25, 1919. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

: n f l/:Il p

v @Mmmm BEUBENWILLIAM TARRANT, or Lennon, ENGLAND.

RAILI/VAY SIGNALING.

Toh all' @hom it mag/'concern Be it knownv that I, REUBEN WILLIAM TARRANT, aV subject of the King of Great Britaimand-.resident of 26 Voltaire road,

Clapham, London, England, have inventedv certainnew and useful Improvements 1n' rent and' at the opposite end (which may be termed the track-relay end) through the winding of a track-relay, the bridging of the railsA at anyv intermediate point in the length of the block-section by anaXle and pair of wheels (or other electric conductor which materially' reduces the .resistance normally existing! in the track-circuit) has for eect, whilel cutting out the track-'relay by shortc-irc'uiting` the source ofenergytoincrease for' thel time being the How of current' throughsaid source.' rlChe` eXtra expenditure of currentr thus caused performs noruseful work-and is entirely wastefuhthe loss being especially disadvantageous when a blocksection: (such as a siding orstation-bay for example)- 4remains occupiedv by aA train or vehicle'during the night or other comparatively'lengthylperiod.

The object of the present invention is not only to prevent' auton'iatically this waste of energy during-the timev the block-section is occupied byv a train,b`ut to enable the eX- penditure'of currenty to be actually reduced, during suc-h'time, to an amount considerably below that which isv normally consumed when' the section`V is unoccupied. For this purpose I provide, in connectionwith arailway electric track-circuit andtrack-relay for controlling` a signal or thelike, an electrically-operatedy automatically-acting currenteconomizingdevice` comprising a resistance higher than that normally eXi'sting-in the track-circuit, said resistancebeing so` connec-.tedv as-to bev' effectively included in the track-circuit' so long only Vas the blocksection-to which rsaid circuitj'appertains is occupiedby a railway Vtrain` o'fr vehicle.V

The electrically-operated device j ust inentioned, which vwill hereinafter be termed the conomizer relay, comprises electromagnet- Speecaton of Letters Patent.

'Patented Nov. a5, i919. Y

Application led September 21, 1916. Serial No'. 121,370.

windings whereofTV one` is constantly connected in circuit with the vtrack-rails while another serves 'as the'current-economizing resistance, and an armature operatingas the result of the energization o--said windings and adapted to control a switch whereby the circuit-connections of said windings are so governed that, on the Ybattery (or other source of energ 7)' which supplies current to the .track-rails beingshort-circuited across the rails (for example, in consequence of the presence in the block-section of a train or Vehicle), the current-econoniizing resistance will be rendered eective'but will he caused to become inoperative when such shortcircuiting ceases.

My invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings. Figure l is a diagram showing'an arrangement of the electric connections wherein the economizerrelay switch closes a circuit when in its normal position only, and Fig. Q'is a similar vdiagram showing an arrangement wherein said switch closes different circuits in its normal and abnormal positions respectively. In Figs-1' and 2, all parts are shown as occupying their normal positions. Figs. 3 to 5 show a constructional form of the economiZer-relay adapted for. useV with connections as shown both in'l Fig. l and in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a plan view, partly in section andl with' the cover removed;l

Fig. 4 an end elevation looking from Vthe lower Vside of Fig. 3, with the cover in section; and Fig. 5 is a side elevation looking from left to right in Figs. 3 anda, with the cover and part of the-bed-plate in section.V

Correspondingparts are denoted by similar reference symbols throughout the drawings.; l Y. Y YReferring first to 1 and 2, a and Z) arethe track-rails of an insulated block-section of the road, entrance to which'is governedby a signal c whereof the electric controlling apparatus (Z is supplied with current :from a battery (or other source. of power) c the circuit of which is controlled bya switch operated bythe armature g of the usual track-'relay h; the opposite ends of the relay-winding being connected to the respective track-rails aand b so that, the trackcir'cu-itgbeing normally closed and the relayenergized, the armature' g' is held in the switch f.'-

Current issupplied to thetraclr-circuit, at

the end of the block-section remote Vfrom end of the section is installed the econoinizerrelay, which comprisesV two distinct electro?" A magnets la andv m whereof thek cores Vare shown inthe diagrams (for the sake of siinplicity and clearness) as arranged `for magnetic Operation fat one pole only in each. It` is to bel understood, however,- that eachV of these cores ,might be magnetically operative at both ends, j Y

c The corey ofthe e'lectromagnet lo isshown as hav-ingl pivotally attached to its operative jpole an extension a constituting a polarized arinature for the economizer-relay, this c armature n, which tends to assume and normally occupies. the unattracted position..

wherein it is shown, being adapted, when magnetized by the core to`whi'ch itis attached, to approach-the adjacentA pole of the core of the electromagnet m. The armature n serves to operate a switch-tongue o which (in both Figs. 1 and2) it normally permits to rest in contact with a terminal p so as to establish an electrical connection which is broken when the armature 'a assumes the attracted position. In the arrangement illustrated incF ig. 1 the switchtongue o, when lifted otl' the terminal 29,* does not establish any other connection; whereas in the arrangement illustrated in Fig. '2, the switch-tongue o, when lifted offv the terminal p, establishes connection with a terminal 1". y

The electromagnet has 'two windings s and t whereof s is the so-called main winding and t the current-reducer or economizerwinding. The electromagnet mhas only'the single so-called neutralizing-winding o. The main winding -s, although constantly1 included effectivelyk in the 'trackcircuit and therefore always energized, is only adapted. to magnetize the armature n strongly enough to cause displacement of the armature from normal position when said winding s is energized byV current of a; value` v greater than that of the current normallyl flowing in the Atrack-circuit. The economizer-winding t, which is adapted to produce in the armature n polarity of the same sign as that produced by the main winding s, is normally inoperative but is of such V-resistance that, whenconnected in series with the track-circuit by the action of the Vswitch o, it reduces the current flowing therein to less than its normal value. The neutralizingwinding @is normally inoperative but, when energized in consequence of the action of the switch 0, is adapted to create a magnetic field of a strength almost but not quite equalV to that produced by the concurrent ,'energiza- `tion of the windings s and t, the field produced by the winding 'v tending to repel the armature a from the "of the-electromag- -the track-railjb, and the other -pole of the battery is'connectedbya wire 12 to one end of the main winding s the opposite end of which is connected `byqawire 13T tovtheV switch-,tongue 0. vThe contactV 79; is` connectedA by a vWire 14 are connected by wires 17 and-18 to the wires 13 and let respectively.`

It will be observed that normally ,'(z. e,

when all the parts are in the positions indi-v cated and kno train is in the block-section) all the current from battery .7' vpasses through the main winding s and switch 0,' the windings t and v, both of which are of higher resista-nce than s and are connectedveach in series therewith but in a shunt across thev switch o, remaining normally denergized. The action of the apparatus as lshown in Fig. 1 is as follows:

On a train entering the block-section, thek track-circuit battery y' isY short-circuited in consequenceof the bridging of the track-4 rails a, by :the wheels and aXles of the train, and the track-relay it being thus cut out its armature g falls, the circuit of the signalcontrolling battery e is broken at the switch i f, and the signale `(which normally Vstands at line clear) is put to line blocked. All this `is as usual in track-circuit working.

At the economizer-relay, the short-circuit-` Vment of the armature, by lifting the switch 0 from the contact 79', renders rvboth the windings t and o e'ective; partf'of the current now passing from one pole 'of battery f7', by wire 12, winding a, wires 13 and 15, winding z5, wires-16 vand 14, rail a, the wheelsand to the track-rail a. f The' 'oppositeends of the economizer-winding t are connected by wires 15 and 16 to the wires 13 and 14 respectively; and similarly, the opposite ends of the neutralizing-winding v1 ing of the battery j causes a momentary rush of current through the main winding s,

14, rail a, the wheels and axles of the train, rail b, and wire 11, back to the other pole of the batterv.' while at the L same time, part ofthe current (afterflowing through the winding s) 'passes by wires 13V and 17, winding "v,

and wire 18, to wire 14.

Hence, the neutralizing-winding @being en- Y ergized, the magnetic forcewhich holds the' armature n `in-the attracted position is Vso.

far counteracted by the repulsiveV force eX- erted by the winding o that the armature is only just prevented from dropping back to normal position. I

It will be seen that a result of the windings t and u beingthrown into the circuit is that the value of the current flowing therein is reduced below the normal to an extent corresponding to the magnitude of the extra resistance thus introduced, such reduction of current continuing so long as the train remains in the block-section.

When the train leaves the block-section, current again passes through the track-relay 71; and, the] switch f being consequently closed, the signal c is returned to line clear7 in the usual manner. At the economizerrelay', the reinterposition in the track-circuit of the resistance due to the track-relay winding 7L has Jfor eHect to so reduce the value of the current flowing s, t and fu that the armature n ceases to be attracted sufficiently to remain in the abnormal position to which it had been brought. Hence the armature falls back to normal position, the switch 0 restablishes connection with the contact p, and normal conditions are therefore restored throughout the system.

ln the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 2, the electric connections relay are 'as follows: One pole of the trackcircuit battery y' is connected' by a wire 19 to one endV of the 'main winding s the opposite end of which is connected by a wire 20 to the track-rail a. The other pole of tliebattery kis connected by a wire 21 toone end or' the economiZer-winding t the opposite en of which is connected by a wire 22 to the track-rail 79. This latter pole of th-e battery j isV also connected by a wire 23 to the contact p, while the switch 0 is connected by a wire 24C to the wire 22. The contact r is connected by a wire 25'to one end of the neutralizing-winding which 'is connected to observed that normally (i. e. when all the parts are in the positions indicated and no train is in the block-section) all the current 1 from battery passes through the main winding s,- both ends of the winding t being then connected to the same polel of battery y' and the circuit of the winding 'zb' being broken at the contact fr', so that the windings z5 and u are both normally deenergized.

The action of the apparatus as shown in Fig `2is as follows:

0n a tram entering;` the block-section, the

track-circuit battery y' is short-circuited in consequence of the bridging oi' the track-V rails a, ZJ by the wheels and axles of the train, the track-relay 71, is lcut out, its armature g falls', theV circuit of the signal-controlling battery e is broken at the switch f and line blocked, all as already described with reference to Figyl.

through the windings of the economizerfu the opposite end of the wire 19. lt will be At the economizer-relay, the short-circuiting of the battery j causes a momentary rush of current through the main winding s, currentA passing Jfrom one pole of the battery, by wire 19, winding s, wire 20, rail a, the wheels and axles of the train, rail Z), wires 22 and 24;, switch o, contact p, and wire 23, baclrto the other pole of battery j, with the result that the magnetization of the armature n is so increasedl that the armature approaches the pole of the electromagnet on. rlhis movement of the armature breaks the switch-connection at 0i, p, and establishes a switch-connection at o, r and thus throws both the windings t and v into circuit; part of the current now passing from one pole of battery y', by wire 19, winding s, wire 20, rail a., the wheels and axles of the train, rail l), wire 22, winding t, and wire 21, back to the other pole of the battery, whileat the same time part of the current passes Vvfrom wire 19, by windingv o, wire 25, contact a, switch o, and wire 2a, to wire22, and thence through winding t and wire 21 to the battery. Hence, the neutralizing-winding c being energized, the magnetic force which holds the armature 'a in the' attracted position is so :tar counteracted by the repulsive Jorce ex erted by the winding o that the armature is only just prevented from dropping back to normal position.

t will be seenthat, as already stated with reference to Fig. 1, a result of the windings t and /U being thrown into the circuit is that' the value of the current flowing therein -is reduced below the normal to an extent corresponding to the magnitude of the resistance thus introduced, such reduction of current continuing so long as the train remains in the block-section. I

l/Vhen the train leaves the block-section, current again passes through the track-relay 7L and the signal .c is returned to line clear as described with reference to Fig. 1. At the economiZer-relay, the re-interposition in the track-circuit of th-e resistance due to thev track-relay winding hhas for eilect to so reduceV theV value of the current iiowing through the windings 5,1?, and o that the armature n ceases to be attracted suiiiciently Yto remain inthe abnormal position to which it had been brought. Hence the armature falls back to normal position, the switch ov breaks connection with the contact/r and reestablishes connection with the contact- 79, 'and normal conditions are therefore restored throughout the system.

Referring now .to the constructional form of the economiZer-relay illustrated in Figs. 3, 4l and 5, 'and m are the two electromagnets already described with reference to the diagrams Figs. 1 and 2. These electromagnets are mounted alongside one another with their respective cores rl and m which are formed each of a straight cylindrical iron bar arallel and horizontal' the jcore m of the electromagnet m having coiledabout j 1t the neutralizing-winding o while the core /0 of the electromagnet 7c has coiled about it the mainl winding .s and, superposed, thereon, thencurrent-reducei; or economiser-winding t'. The ends of the core m proj eet beyond the bobbin of the electron'iagnet m and are fixed in brackets 26, 27 upstanding from a brass plate 2S wl'iich'carries both electromagnets and which is mounted on top oi.2 a cast iron bed-plate 29 serving to entire structure oit the relay. is adapted to rotate through a small angle within the bobbin of the the ends of .the core being 4supported by axial pivot-pins 30, 8l iixed in brackets 32, 33 also upstanding from the plate 28. The rotary core 7c has fast upon its ends a pair of iron arms nl, ft2 which conjointly constitute the economizer-relay armature; the free end-portions 841-, 35 oit these arms eX- tending across and beneath the projecting en d portions distance therefrom that magnetization of the core la and armature-arms n', n2 will cause the core to Arotate in consequence of the free ends of the arms then concurrently rising (in opposition. to gra vity) from their normal position so as to approach the adjacent ends oit' the core m and assume the abnormal or attracted position wherein they are shown in Figs. 4L- and 5. ln order to increase the efiicieney of the magnetic field, the upper side of the tree ends of, the' yarmature-arms n n.2 are of inverted if-shape in cross section as at 34, 35 and enter transverse Y notches of corresponding shape on the underside of the core m, as indicated in Fig. 5.

o is the blade of the eeonomizer-relay switch, which` extends alongside oii and parallel to the armature-'alan n and is pivotedv at 36 in a bracket mounted upon` but insulated from the plate 28; the blade V0 having,

laterally-cranked extension 37. which is presented beneath an adjustable tappet-screw` carried'by a corresponding extension 38 of the arm n. The vibrator-y movement of the switch-blade o is limited by lowerl andupper cross-pins 7) and r et metal, and when alll ythe parts are in normal position, the

blade o rests upon the lower cross-ping?v which is carried by a brass bracket 39 mountedl upon but insulated from the plate 28; this cross pin pfwhichis always connected electrically, serving the same unction as the contact p in Fig. l or in Fig-2 as the case may be. wWhen the free ends` Se, 235 or the armature-arms n-, n2 rise to their abnormal or attracted position, the switch-blade 0 encounters the upper cross-pin r, which is'carried by abrass bracket e0 mounted upon the plate 28 but insulated therefrom and from the bracket 39 and cross-pin p. The crosssupport the rllhe core 7c 1 L 1 (n eiectioinagnet l.,

of the fixed core m and at such at the opposite side o1c the pivot 36, a

pin fr may either be a mereV stop, or may be electrically connectedV andservethe same function as the contact r in Fig. 2.

The electromagnets V7c andi/nf, withthe'ir coresvand .the armature-'arms n and n2, thef switch blade 0 and cross-pins p andY 1, arel all inclosed .withinrtlre removable cover` tlf rihe bed-plate 29-carries a row of insulated terminals 4t2, 48, lL-l ande-5 through whi'ch thevarious leads areconnected, on the one hand to the windings t and/0, to the switchblade o, and tothe contact-pins p and @and on the other hand to the poles of the battery and to the track-rails, so as to provide connections'similarV to those described withV ret'- erence either to F ig. l or to F ig. 2. With regard'to the' function performed by the neutralizing-winding, it is to be observed that this-is of'great practical importance in view of the continual iiuctuations of current which yare liable to occur in a track-cn cuit in consequence, chiefly, of variations in the ohinic value of the rail-to-rail or ballast-resistance; the employment of the neutralizing-winding, whereof the resistance can be adjusted with any degree of precision relatively to that of the. current-reducer or economizer-winding, enabling the fall-away point (i. e. the current-condition upon which the return or' the economizer relay armature to normal position depends)y to be determined and kept within the necessary limits notwithstanding the occurrence of wide and sudden variationsin'the ballastresistance. Forthis purpose the current-reducer and neutralizing windings lare so wound relatively to one another as tobe adapted to produce conjointly, when energized, -a magnetic condition in the armature closely approachingneutrality or depolarization, whatever increase or decreasemay at any time occur through the windings. At the same time the main winding isgiven only a few turns, so thatits magnetic field, although capable ot' moving the armature from normal position on the occurrence of a rush of current such as follows on a train entering the blocksection, will be unable to retain the armature in abnormal position with any accidental increase of current (due to, say, temporary reduction of the ballast-resistance) to an eX- tent even sulicient to bring up the currentvalue to almost that strength .which would cause the armature to move from normal position. It will thusbe seen that the determinationot the fall-away point l by means oit the neutralizing-winding enables themagnetic control of the economiZer-relay switch to kbe eiected'with almost any desired degree of precision. V Y L; e

What I claim is 1. An electrically.' operated devicegfor device comprising a stationary Ypiece of: soft Y in the current flowing iron, a magnet having a-core connected to anv armature movable relatively to said stationary piece and constantly tending to recede therefrom, two windings -coiled about the core of the inagnet'and both adapted to produce magnetic polarities of the same sign in'said armature,- one of said windings being constantly includedY effectively in the track-circuit and being of relatively low resistancewhile the otheirwi ding has a rcsistance higher than that normally existing in the track-circuit., and a switch actuated by the movement of said 'armature for so controlling the circuit-connections of the several windings that the higher resistance winding magnet will be effectively included in the track-circuit so long only as the track-circuit battery is short-circuited across the track rails.

2. An electrically-operated devicel for4 economizing current in a track-circuit, .said

device comprising twol electromagnets, theV core of the first magnet having1 a stationary pole-piece while the core of the second magf net is connected to an armature movable relatively to said stationary pole-piece and constantly tending to recede therefrom when said track is unoccupied, two windings coiled about the core of the second magnet and both adapted to produce magnetic polarities of the same sign in said armature, one of said windings being constantly in cluded eiectively in the track-circuit and being of relatively low resistance while the other winding has a resistance higher than that normally existing in the track-circuit, a single winding coiled about the core of the rst magnet, thevresistance of said winding being almost equal to the conjoint re circuit-connections of the several windings that the higher-resistance winding of the secondmagnet will be effectively included in the track-circuit so long only as the track circuit battery is short-circuited across the track-rails.

3. An' electrically operated device for economizing current in a track-circuit, said device comprising two electromagnets, the core of the rst magnet having a stationary pole-piece while the core of the second magnet is connected to an armature movable relatively to said stationary pole-piece and constantly tending to Arecede therefrom when said track is unoccupied, two windings coiled about the core of the second magnet and both adapted to produce magnetic polarities ot the same sign in said armature, one of said windings being constantly included eectively in the track-circuitand being orela- 'tively low resistance while the resistance of the other winding is higher'than that normall 'existing in the track-circuit, a single wint ing coiled about the core oli the iirst magnet, having a-iesistance alu'iost equal "to the conjoint i'e'sistances of the other two windings, said single winding being adapted to produce a magnetic iield tending to repel said armature in opposition to the magnetic influence exerted by the two windings of the `second magnet.,V and a switch actuated by the winding of the first magnet are so con- Y Y nected as to become operative only when said switch is displaced from normal position.

4. An electrically-operated device for economizing current in a track-circuit, said device comprising two electromagnets, the 'i core of the iirstmagnet having a stationary pole-piece while the core of lthe second magnet is connected to Aan armature movable relatively to said stationary pole pieceV and constantly tending to recede therefrom Vwhen Said track is' unoccupied, two windings coiled about the core of the second magnet and both adapted to produce magnetic polarities of the same sign inl said armature, one of said windings being constantly included ellfectively in the track-circuit and being of relatively low resistance while the resistance of the other winding is higher than that normally existing in the trackcircuit, a single winding coiled about the core of the lirst magnet,'the resistance of: said winding being almostequal to the conjoint re'sistances of the other two windings, said single winding being adapted to produce a magnetic eld tending to repel said armature in opposition to the magnetic Yinfluence exerted by the two windings of the second magnet, and a switch actuated by the movement of said armature and adapted to establish connection with each of two electric contacts alternatively, in the one case for rendering operative only the low resistance winding of the second magnet and in theV other'case for rendering operative said low-resistance winding, the higher-resistance Ywinding of saifl second magnet, and the winding; ot the first magnet.

5. Electrically operated apparatus for reducing below the normal the expenditure of currentin a block of an'electrical block signaling system when said block is occupied byV a train, said means comprising an electromagnet-winding constantly included efectively in the track-circuit, an armature subject to the magnetic influence of said winding and movable thereby from normal to attracted position only when said'winding 'is energized by currentl`havi11ga value greater than that ofi'theeurrent normally flowing in the track# circuit, a second electromagnet-Wlndmg adapted to 'oopemte "With the rst-mentioned Winding in lretaining `said armature magnetically vin its attracted position, the resistance otsziid Seoond Winding being higher than .thatnormally existing in the track-circuit, -a third eleetroinagnet Winding .whereof the resistance is almost equal Winding.

to the `conjoint VIesist- Y position, and a vSwitch controlledbye-said armature and adapted, when movedfio'mA normal position, tor-bring about'el'ective in; elusiono the second-Winding 1n the trackclrcuit and energlzation of theY third REUBEN WILLIAM TARnANTJ y vto repel said Varmature fromits attracted 

